The Colin Kaepernick controversy in 2016 made quite the ruckus. Countless people came forward with their points of view regarding Colin and his decision to take a knee during the national anthem, including, as it turns out — Nick Bosa. Currently, a San Francisco 49ers DE, Bosa didn’t pull any punches while making his stance known, even calling Kaepernick a ‘Clown’. However, there’s more to the story.
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When the Colin Kaepernick controversy became the talk of the town, Bosa posted a series of controversial tweets criticizing the 49ers QB. Soon after getting drafted into the NFL by the 49ers, Nick Bosa was asked about the same and thus decided to clarify his previous comments on Kaepernick during his introductory press conference.
When asked if he still thought of Kaepernick as a clown, two and a half years down the line, Bosa completely changed his stance. Bosa claimed that he did not use the term “clown” for Kaepernick or the quarterback’s stance, but it was for something specific that had happened.
He called the entire thing a bad decision, blaming it on his younger self, who did not think much before putting up such social media posts. Bosa even apologized for his post, letting everyone know that he respected Colin Kaepernick and whatever he had done to empower people.
“It wasn’t directed toward that. It’s not like I’m saying his stance and what he was doing — that’s not what I was talking about at all. It was just a specific thing that happened, and me, as a young kid, a thought popped into my head, and, boom, decided to tweet it out,” Bosa Clarified.
“Bad decision. I respect what he’s done. If it empowers anybody, then he’s doing a good thing. I apologize for that,” Bosa further added, as reported by the official NFL site.
Safe to say, the controversy surrounding Colin Kaepernick, who was even publicly embarrassed by the then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, is significant. Yet, there are not many who know how Kaepernick actually got inspired to take the knee.
Former Special Forces soldier Nate Boyer Inspired Colin Kaepernick to Take the Knee
Although Colin Kaepernick was the first NFL player to take a knee, it wasn’t originally his way of protesting. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback had initially committed himself to sitting down during the US National Anthem until he met Nate Boyer, an ex-soldier.
It was on Boyer’s advice that Kaepernick decided to change his mode of protest into taking a knee. Boyer suggested this to him when the two met for the first time back in 2016.
“I said if you’re committed to not standing – which he said he was – I think the only logical solution or gesture, in my opinion, would be to take a knee. He thought it was actually more powerful than sitting. He kind of said right then and there, ‘That’s what I’m going to do’,” Boyer said about his suggestion to Kaepernick, per Sky Sports.
Boyer felt that taking the knee was a better option than sitting down during the National Anthem. His advice worked, and it ended up becoming a distinct symbolic gesture to protest against racism.
